1. Gumbo Limbo Nature Center:
The summer between my junior and senior year, I made the decision to fly down to my father’s house for the whole summer in South Florida. Instead of wasting the summer away by watching television, I decided to volunteer at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center for three days a week. I chose volunteering at a nature center over other places because Gumbo Limbo Nature Center was a place I grew up going to as a child. Working around sea turtles and other marine organisms at this nature center, I began to find topics of marine biology shortly after my first day volunteering. I was able to participate with in a sea turtle release, listen in on lecture about various marine topics, and learn about the variety of marine animals in rehabilitation.
2. University of Central Florida Biology Department/ Coastal & Estuarine Ecology Laboratory (CEE Lab):
While taking Principles of Marine Biology and Advanced Marine Biology, my professor mentioned to us the various opportunities to volunteer with the CEE Lab. I saw an opportunity to gain knowledge and an experience in the field involving a process to improve shorelines, research projects, and a variety of vegetations. A few things I've learned while working with this organization is the importance of mangroves and marsh grass have in improving a restoration site, how to have proper plant and grow these plants, grasp an understanding of various marine biology projects, and several other things.
The restoration team from Dr. Walters Advanced Marine Biology course partnering with CEE Lab at the Tomoka State Park
3. Living Shoreline Stabilization Project:
One of my courses my last semester at UCF required us to choose one of three projects to work on throughout the semester. Out of the three projects, the living shoreline stabilization project sparked my interest to restore a shoreline. My group and I worked hard on creating a flyer, two presentations, and hosting a restoration event. Our goal was to improve a shoreline that was impacted by Hurricane Irma back in September 2017. As the semester progressed, I learned the efforts that go into monitoring, the importance of shell bags and how to make them, a long with the various responsibilities going into holding a restoration event.
Photo Credit: Paul Walters
